So I don't understand how the waiver process works in baseball. What does this mean? Is he still playing for the team?

If a team wants to make a trade after the July 31st deadline then they can only trade a player after they've gone through waivers. What revocable waivers does is let a team put a player on the waiver wire to see if a team makes a claim. If a team does, than they can pull him off waivers but it means any trade won't happen.

So, yes, for now he's still with the team. If he clears waivers though he might get dealt.

I feel like this opens the window a bit to him coming back next year because if he's traded and whoever he's traded to declines his option year he may be willing to come back at a reduced cost. I don't know if the Jays would be in on that but then again I really don't know what the Jays plans are long term.

Is it like hockey, like they can claim him for nothing in return?

I ask because why would there be a market to deal him after everyone passes on him for free?

So I don't understand how the waiver process works in baseball. What does this mean? Is he still playing for the team?

If a team wants to make a trade after the July 31st deadline then they can only trade a player after they've gone through waivers. What revocable waivers does is let a team put a player on the waiver wire to see if a team makes a claim. If a team does, than they can pull him off waivers but it means any trade won't happen.

So, yes, for now he's still with the team. If he clears waivers though he might get dealt.

I feel like this opens the window a bit to him coming back next year because if he's traded and whoever he's traded to declines his option year he may be willing to come back at a reduced cost. I don't know if the Jays would be in on that but then again I really don't know what the Jays plans are long term.

Is it like hockey, like they can claim him for nothing in return?

I ask because why would there be a market to deal him after everyone passes on him for free?

Nobody is going to want to pay Bautista the $6 million remaining on his contract this year. If the Jays manage to deal him they will have to eat up most of his remaining salary. I would be shocked if someone wants Bautista for "free". I can't see much coming back to the Jays in return. I just hope this is a win-win scenario in the end. Bautista deserves that much. He has done a lot for this franchise. I hope this waiver process was initiated with his blessing.

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Bautista has 10 and 5 rights so can't be traded unless he agrees to be dealt. I think the most realistic situation is that he is here until the end of the season and both sides part ways in the off-season.

I ask because why would there be a market to deal him after everyone passes on him for free?

It's not really like in hockey, no. In this instance, the Jays have right to pull him off waivers if they can't come to terms on a trade with the team that's awarded the claim. The other team only gets him for free if the Jays decide being rid of the contract is their primary goal - which is unlikely here, as all they need to do to be rid of the contract at the end of the season is decline their side of the mutual option.

If he ends up on waivers again this month (also very unlikely), then he'd be free to whoever claims him, but, unless a team really wants to be rid of a player, that generally doesn't happen with guys who are in the lineup every game.

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"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

I ask because why would there be a market to deal him after everyone passes on him for free?

Like Busta already explained, this process is a lot different than hockey. Jays traded Jeff Kent years ago in late august to acquire David Cone who, like Bautista, was put on waivers earlier in the month. So there can still be some substantial deals made, it just depends on the calibre of player traded I guess.

It's a weird August only thing. Otherwise, MLB doesn't really use waivers all that much during the season.

It's actually from August through to the end of the season. The difference being that players you trade for in August are post-season eligible, whereas the players you trade for in Sept/Oct aren't. Every once in a while you see a team make those later trades in an attempt to push them into the playoffs. The Jays did it years ago with Bud Black (current Rockies manager) and more recently with Darwin Barney.

A bit of a curious move at this point in the season. It could be they aren't sold on Tepesch and Rowley as 2/5ths of the rotation the rest of the way, but they are stretching out Biagini in Buffalo and have Brett Anderson down there as well so not like they didn't already have options. Maybe Estrada still gets moved before the end of the month?

Koehler is arbitration eligible and not an UFA until 2019, so could be part of the Jays plans next year as a 5th starter or long man in the pen provided he puts up better numbers.

A bit of a curious move at this point in the season. It could be they aren't sold on Tepesch and Rowley as 2/5ths of the rotation the rest of the way, but they are stretching out Biagini in Buffalo and have Brett Anderson down there as well so not like they didn't already have options. Maybe Estrada still gets moved before the end of the month?

Koehler is arbitration eligible and not an UFA until 2019, so could be part of the Jays plans next year as a 5th starter or long man in the pen provided he puts up better numbers.

No on Estrada being moved. He was claimed on trade waivers and the Jays pulled him back. The only way he moves now is if the Jays are willing to let him go for nothing on normal waivers.

My guess is this move was move about a team on the fringes of the playoff race picking up an experienced depth option for minimal assets. Gutierrez doesn't likely have an MLB future, and while Koehler isn't exactly a great addition, he's a reasonable option as an injury replacement/swing man type.

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"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

A bit of a curious move at this point in the season. It could be they aren't sold on Tepesch and Rowley as 2/5ths of the rotation the rest of the way, but they are stretching out Biagini in Buffalo and have Brett Anderson down there as well so not like they didn't already have options. Maybe Estrada still gets moved before the end of the month?

Koehler is arbitration eligible and not an UFA until 2019, so could be part of the Jays plans next year as a 5th starter or long man in the pen provided he puts up better numbers.

No on Estrada being moved. He was claimed on trade waivers and the Jays pulled him back. The only way he moves now is if the Jays are willing to let him go for nothing on normal waivers.

My guess is this move was move about a team on the fringes of the playoff race picking up an experienced depth option for minimal assets. Gutierrez doesn't likely have an MLB future, and while Koehler isn't exactly a great addition, he's a reasonable option as an injury replacement/swing man type.

Yeah it had completely slipped my mind that he had been claimed by "a mystery team" and therefore only eligible to be dealt to that team. Speculation at the time was an AL East team, lot of people were guessing the Yankees...so not surprising that the Jays pulled him back.

The Jays have Koehler down with the Dunedin Jays at the moment. It could be they need a place to get him some work with Buffalo, New Hampshire and Lansing all failing to make the playoffs and their seasons ending shortly. That should hasten the September call-ups somewhat as well with nothing to play for in the minors.